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Headlines

🗞️ Last week, Amazon held its AWS conference in Paris, the latest sign of its commitment to the French AI ecosystem. As part of the event, AWS dropped a report, "Unlocking France's AI Potential 2025," produced with Strand Partners.

The report noted that AI adoption in France is accelerating, driven largely by startups, with 68% now using AI — the highest rate in Europe — compared to just 30% among all French businesses. Startups are leveraging AI to create new products and business models, benefiting from strong access to capital, talent, and a collaborative ecosystem. However, a two-speed economy is emerging: large enterprises and SMEs lag behind in advanced AI integration, hindered by limited AI strategies, low cloud adoption, and a growing digital skills gap. SMEs in particular struggle with high adoption costs and talent shortages, despite AI delivering strong productivity and revenue gains for those who use it. France still trails the European average in overall AI adoption, with only 30% of businesses using AI compared to 42% across Europe. The report stresses that accelerating cloud adoption, developing enterprise-wide AI strategies, and investing in digital talent are critical for France to stay competitive. Additionally, regulatory complexity and high compliance costs are major barriers that must be addressed to unlock the full potential of AI across French businesses. | AWS

🗞️ In the 9th annual AI Index Report 2025 from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAL), France got several high marks – as well as some warning signs. On the good side of the ledger, France produced 3 notable AI models in 2024 — the highest in Europe after the UK and Germany. The French government announced a massive €109 billion investment in AI infrastructure, placing it among the top global investors. France is also joining the global push for safer AI, launching a national AI Safety Institute in 2024. However, industrial robot adoption slowed, with a 13% drop in installations last year. Public AI procurement in France has been steady but modest over the past decade, with ARCOM using AI to regulate digital content and fight online piracy. Finally, the country saw an increase in AI optimism among the general population 10% to 41%. That actually exceeds 39% in the US, but lags dramatically behind the 83% in China.

🗞️ Germany and France are at odds over how to regulate US Big Tech in Europe. France is pushing for new taxes on American tech giants like Google and Meta, arguing it’s essential for fair competition, while Germany opposes the move, warning it could provoke retaliatory US tariffs that would harm European exporters. Despite this dispute, both countries have found common ground in their ambition to strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty. They are backing the development of EU-based cloud and data infrastructure, a strategy that aligns with the broader Eurostack initiative — an effort to create a European alternative to dominant US and Chinese tech platforms. This convergence marks a significant win for European industry, paving the way for major public-private investments to build resilient, homegrown digital capabilities. | Euractiv

🗞️ Last week, the European Commission unveiled its “AI Continent Plan” — a strategic pivot aimed at catching up in the global AI race. After years of focusing on regulation, the EU is now shifting toward enabling AI adoption, boosting infrastructure, and cutting red tape. The plan includes €200 billion in investments, promoting European data-sharing, developing sovereign AI infrastructure, and launching AI “gigafactories.” However, this effort still pales in comparison to U.S. and Chinese investments, like Microsoft-OpenAI’s $40 billion raise or Amazon's $500 billion Stargate initiative. Critics argue that Europe’s fragmented market, lack of local AI champions, and slow-moving bureaucracy remain key obstacles. The real challenge may not just be funding, but removing regulatory barriers and accelerating AI adoption across European industries. | Politico, EC, CNBC

🗞️ Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a strategic partnership with Mistral AI to strengthen its position in the generative AI market. As part of the deal, Mistral will use AWS as its preferred cloud provider, while AWS customers will gain access to Mistral’s new open-weight model, “Mixtral,” through Amazon Bedrock. This partnership highlights AWS’s growing focus on supporting open-source AI models to compete with rivals like Microsoft-OpenAI and Google. It also reinforces Europe’s emerging role in the global AI landscape, with Mistral positioned as a potential European AI champion. | AWS

🗞️ France has launched its first-ever World AI Film Festival, aiming to showcase how AI can be a tool for creativity rather than a threat to it. Held in Cannes alongside MIPTV, the festival presents films partially or fully created using AI, highlighting new artistic possibilities. Organizers want to challenge the narrative that AI will replace human creativity, instead promoting collaboration between artists and technology. The event comes amid growing debate in the film industry over AI’s role in content creation and intellectual property. Ultimately, the festival positions France as a leader in exploring the cultural and creative potential of AI. | Screen Daily

🗞️ SeqOne, a French precision medicine startup specializing in genomic analysis software, has acquired Life-Soft, a French company known for its expertise in genetic data interpretation and diagnostics. The acquisition strengthens SeqOne’s position in oncology and hereditary disease testing by expanding its technological capabilities and clinical-grade solutions. This move is part of SeqOne’s strategy to accelerate growth and become a leading European player in genomic medicine. The combined platform will offer healthcare providers a more comprehensive and streamlined solution for genetic testing and personalized treatment decisions. | PR

🗞️ According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the rapid rise of AI and cryptocurrency mining is expected to more than double global data center electricity demand by 2030. Data centers could consume over 1,000 terawatt hours annually — equivalent to Japan's total electricity use — driven largely by the energy needs of AI training and generative AI applications. The IEA warns this surge will put increasing pressure on power grids and could slow global efforts to cut carbon emissions. This trend underscores the growing environmental challenge posed by the AI boom. | France24

ICYMI

🗞️ FlexAI: Pioneering Universal AI Compute Infrastructure | Modern AI workloads were being forced to run on computing architectures designed decades ago. FlexAI wants to create a faster, more flexible system that enables rapid scaling. | The French Tech Journal

🗞️ Descartes Underwriting: Doubling Down On Climate Risk As Insurance Industry Retreats | Chief Science Officer Kévin Dedieu: "AI represents between 2-5% of our tech investments. Next year, we’re increasing that by 10%, with more resources dedicated to AI and using it for our core models. The cost of AI is relatively low, but its impact is huge.” | The French Tech Journal

🗞️ Growl's AI Boxing Bag Delivers A Knockout Fitness Experience | A pair of French entrepreneurs in Texas have launched Growl, a connected fitness startup that reimagines the traditional boxing bag as an AI-powered, interactive home coach. As the company moves towards commercialization, CEO and co-founder Léo Desrumaux explains the vision. | The French Tech Journal

🗣️ How Ogury Is Navigating The AI AdTech Revolution

Digital advertising has been the fundamental business model that has powered online businesses for almost three decades. That supremacy is now under assault by unprecedented challenges from privacy regulations, the rapid disappearance of third-party identifiers, and the rise of generative artificial intelligence.

So it might come as a surprise that Geoffroy Martin, the CEO of the French-born adtech firm Ogury, exudes optimism about the future. Martin believes that Ogury's approach, rooted in privacy-first principles, has the company well-positioned to thrive.

Ogury has spent a decade perfecting "personified advertising," which targets personas rather than individuals, respecting user privacy while delivering superior campaign performance. Martin sees Ogury – and the industry – at an exciting inflection point.

"We are in the middle of two revolutions, one which is purely within ad tech, which is that shift of privacy first and loss of signal on the open internet," Martin said, "which is going to be further accelerated and compounded by the very, very fast rise of AI."

AI Funding News

📇 Company: Sekoia.io
🔍 Description: SaaS cybersecurity platform that uses AI for real-time detection and response to cyber threats.
💻 Website: https://sekoia.io
📍 HQ City: Rennes, France
🧗 Round: Series B
💰 Amount Raised: €26 million
🏦 Investors: Bpifrance, Omnes Capital, Unexo, Bright Pixel Capital, Revaia
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Freddy Milesi
🗞️ News: FrenchWeb, L'Usine Digitale, EU Startups, Revaia

📇 Company: Okeiro
🔍 Description: Innovative solutions for better healthcare and faster drug development.
💻 Website: https://okeiro.com/en
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Early VC
💰 Amount Raised: €10 million
🏦 Investors: Alven, Red River West, Forepont Capital Partners
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Stephane Tholander, Thierry Beaupere
🗞️ News: Les Echos

📇 Company: qevlar ai
🔍 Description: AI-driven cybersecurity SOC automation platform.
💻 Website: https://www.qevlar.com/
📍 HQ City: Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €9 million
🏦 Investors: Olivier Pomel, Florian Douetteau, EQT Ventures, ForgePoint Capital, Mehdi Ghissassi
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Hamza Sayah, Roland de la Chapelle, Ahmed Achchak
🗞️ News: Maddyness, L'Usine Digitale

📇 Company: Pyannote
🔍 Description: AI solution for conversational speech and voice recognition.
💻 Website: https://www.pyannote.ai
📍 HQ City: France
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €8.1 million
🏦 Investors: Kima Ventures, Serena, Crane Venture Partners, Julien Chaumond, Pareto Holdings, Motier Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Vincent Molina, Hervé Bredin
🗞️ News: Les Echos

📇 Company: Diagnoly
🔍 Description: AI-based solution improving fetal screening accuracy.
💻 Website: https://diagnoly.com/
📍 HQ City: Lyon, France
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €5.5 million
🏦 Investors: XAnge, Newfund, BADGE
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Ivan Voznyuk, Edwin Quarello
🗞️ News: LinkedIn, FrenchWeb

📇 Company: Sim&Cure
🔍 Description: Transforming endovascular procedures through Digital Twin and AI technologies.
💻 Website: https://sim-and-cure.com
📍 HQ City: Montpellier, France
🧗 Round: Series A Extension
💰 Amount Raised: €3.1 million
🏦 Investors: Irdi Capital Investissement, Swen Capital Partners, Holnest, Elaia
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Mathieu Sanchez
🗞️ News: LinkedIn

📇 Company: Qperfect
🔍 Description: Quantum design automation tool for chip design.
💻 Website: http://qperfect.io
📍 HQ City: Strasbourg, France
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €2 million
🏦 Investors: BTQ
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Guido Pupillo, Shannon Whitlock, Johannes Schachenmayer, Sébastien Buffechoux

📇 Company: Ed AI
🔍 Description: AI-driven education platform.
💻 Website: http://ed.ai
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €1.7 million
🏦 Investors: Ring Capital, Evolem, AFI Ventures, Super Capital, CentraleSupélec Venture
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Jonathan Banon, Cédric Bignon, Rémi Mazières
🗞️ News: FrenchWeb

Events

☀️ Sponsors' events ☀️

📆 Viva Technology | June 11 - 14 | VivaTech is Europe's biggest startup and tech event. The ninth edition is taking place in Paris, at the Expo Porte de Versailles venue. VivaTech contributes to the acceleration of innovation by connecting startups, technology leaders, large companies, and investors addressing the world's greatest challenges. | Buy Tickets

The Calendar

📆 Gen AI, behind the scenes: concrete, metals, heat, and vapor: Pruna AI | April 15| Beyond the hype and headlines, let's take a virtual deep dive into AI’s true cost—from data centers to societal impact. Only by understanding the concrete reality of AI can we move past surface-level debates and ask better questions. | Register

📆 How Stripe Builds With AI | April 16 | In these events, we are gathering AI builders: product, data, and engineering teams to talk about everything related to shipping AI in production. ​​​​We'll discuss use cases, ROI, team organisation, models, tooling, challenges, and much more. Our goal is for everyone to get energy, inspiration, and solutions to climb the AI learning curve faster and unlock maximum value with this outstanding technology. ​For this new edition, you will hear from Arielle Le Bail, Lead Product France @ Stripe. | Register

📆 MKIA 25 | April 29 | The Maddy Keynote, organized by Maddyness, announces its special edition: the MKIA, the event that transforms the broad guidelines on AI into concrete initiatives for the economic leaders of tomorrow. Far from abstract tech-symbol discourse, MKIA deciphers AI in a concrete and educational way through round tables, keynotes, case studies, and a zone for startups. It enables all actors – start-ups, corporations, investors, and institutions – to take ownership of the challenges and opportunities of its adoption. | Register

📆 GOSIM AI Paris 2025 | May 6-7 | The Global Open-Source Innovation Meetup will spotlight the latest advancements in 6 Conference Tracks: AI Model, AI Infra, AI Apps, Embodied AI, AI for Science, and Global Open-Source AI Collaboration, driving significant progress in global open-source AI collaboration. A highlight of the event is the introduction of GOSIM AI Spotlight, a global initiative to select 10 outstanding open-source AI projects for showcase and technical exchange, further accelerating AI innovation. | Registration

📆 Google Cloud Summit France 2025 | May 22 | Join the annual Google Cloud event to discover the latest technological innovations in generative AI, security, application development, collaboration, and more. | Register

📆 {Tech: Paris} AI Hackathon #1 | May 24 | Join us for the first-ever {Tech: Europe} AI Hackathon in Paris — a full weekend dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what's possible with artificial intelligence. Whether you're a seasoned builder or just getting started, this is your chance to connect, create, and compete alongside Europe's top talent. | Register

📆 The Paris AI Conference 2025 | June 16 | The Paris AI Conference 2025 gathers 250 of France's AI Experts, Founders, Investors, and Enthusiasts, for an evening of content and networking. This event is hosted by Startup Network Europe. | Register

📆 Stripe Tour Paris | June 17 | Join us for Stripe Tour, our global roadshow that brings together business leaders in major cities to discuss the most important trends in payments and financial technology. | Register

📆 RAISE Summit 2025 | July 8-9, 2025 | RAISE Summit is the premier event for professionals seeking to disrupt, build, and connect in the AI landscape. This summit is the ultimate destination to validate AI strategies through real-world use cases, define a winning AI playbook, and find the right partners to deliver cutting-edge solutions. | Register

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